# Saint Paul City Council *Governing body of Saint Paul, Minnesota, a seven-member, ward-elected council within a strong mayor–council government.* The Saint Paul City Council is the legislative body of [[Saint Paul, Minnesota]], and it operates within a strong mayor–council government. Its seven members each represent one ward and serve four-year terms.[^1][^2] State law makes city offices nonpartisan, and party labels do not appear on the ballot. As of 2024, every member belonged to the [[Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party]].[^2] In this record, the council appears through two acknowledgment instruments and through what the city has published about carrying them out. On January 9, 2013, the council unanimously adopted a resolution naming "the genocide of the Dakota people in Minnesota." The resolution directed the identification and interpretation of sacred Dakota sites. The city's own pages do not document that the interpretive program was completed.[^3] On January 13, 2021, the council adopted Resolution 21-77, apologizing for "the City's role in institutional and structural racism." On February 13, 2023, it created a Reparations Commission by ordinance. The commission is advisory, and the city's reparations page states no amount of city funds appropriated.[^4] The council is not named as a party in the federal actions against the State cited here. On January 14, 2026, the [[United States Department of Justice]] issued release No. 26-21, *United States Department of Justice Files Lawsuit Against Minnesota's "Affirmative Action" Regime*. Attorney General Pamela Bondi certified the case as a matter of general public importance.[^5] The complaint in [[United States v. State of Minnesota (0:26-cv-00273)]] (D. Minn. filed Jan. 14, 2026) is brought under Title VII of the [[Civil Rights Act of 1964]]. The complaint cites [[Minn. Stat. § 43A.191]] eight times, including subd. 3(c), which requires an agency to explain its reason for hiring a non-affirmative candidate. No disposition is recorded in the sources cited here.[^6] The United States has used "regime" in statute for governments it opposes. The [[Iraq Liberation Act]] of 1998, for example, states a policy of supporting efforts to remove "the regime headed by Saddam Hussein." The project's catalogue of U.S.-government "regime" usages finds Minnesota the only U.S. state so described.[^7] ## History Saint Paul voters approved the single transferable vote, a ranked-ballot method, in 2009, and the city has used it since 2011. Because each ward elects a single member, the method operates in practice as instant-runoff voting.[^2] ## Membership The council has seven nonpartisan seats. The most recently seated member, Molly Coleman, joined in August 2025.[^2] ## Who The council is the city's governing body, and its seven members are elected by ward.[^1] The offices are nonpartisan, though as of 2024 all seven members were affiliated with the DFL.[^2] The sources cited here do not attribute the council's 2013, 2021 or 2023 votes to any party, and this article attributes none. ## What - **January 9, 2013.** By unanimous vote, the council adopted a resolution describing "the genocide of the Dakota people in Minnesota." The resolution directed the City and Parks & Recreation to identify and interpret sacred Dakota sites at Bdote and the Great River Passage.[^3] - **January 13, 2021.** The council adopted Resolution 21-77, apologizing for "the City's role in institutional and structural racism."[^4] - **February 13, 2023.** The council established a Reparations Commission by ordinance.[^4] - **2017–2018 (city).** The City of Saint Paul was one of nine public entities that commissioned the 2017 Minnesota Joint Disparity Study from Keen Independent. According to the consultant's release, Phase 1 was released October 10, 2017. It found that women- and minority-owned businesses received 11% of procurement spending against an expected 22%. The full report followed on March 12, 2018.[^8] ## When - January 9, 2013: genocide resolution adopted.[^3] - January 13, 2021: Resolution 21-77 adopted.[^4] - February 13, 2023: Reparations Commission ordinance.[^4] - August 2025: newest member seated.[^2] ## Where Saint Paul lies within the seven-county region served by the [[Metropolitan Council (Minnesota)]]. That body was created by the Metropolitan Council enabling act, signed May 25, 1967, by Republican Governor [[Harold LeVander]] and codified at Minn. Stat. § 473.123.[^9] Its members are appointed by the governor rather than elected.[^10] Under the 1976 Metropolitan Land Use Planning Act, the Metropolitan Council reviews the comprehensive plans of the region's 187 municipalities.[^11] The Green Line (Central Corridor) light rail opened on June 14, 2014. It is operated by the Metropolitan Council and connects the Minneapolis and Saint Paul downtowns.[^12] ## How The Reparations Commission is advisory. Its functions are to recommend, evaluate, and write work plans.[^4] Council members are elected by ranked ballot in single-member wards.[^2] ## How much - As of February 2023, council members were paid $70.28 per hour. They are classified as part-time employees but paid for 40 hours per pay period, roughly $73,000 a year.[^2] - The city's reparations page states no amount of city funds appropriated for reparations.[^4] ## How many - Seven members, one per ward.[^1] - The 2013 resolution passed unanimously.[^3] ## In the at-issue record **Pair AI-Ramsey-033 (genocide resolution, 2013).** A unanimous council directive named the genocide of the Dakota people and called for interpretation of sacred sites at Bdote and the Great River Passage. Thirteen years later, the city's own pages do not document the program's completion. The project pairs this record with the White House presidential action of January 2025 on ending DEI programs and preferencing.[^3] **Pair AI-Ramsey-045 (Resolution 21-77 and the Reparations Commission).** The council issued a 2021 apology and passed a 2023 ordinance creating an advisory commission. The city's own reparations page lists no appropriation.[^4] The project's companion record, *The Instrument No One Will Name* (June 18, 2026), places the 2021 resolution in a sequence of Minnesota acknowledgment documents. That sequence runs through [[Executive Order 26-05]] (March 25, 2026), which established the Governor's "Truth" Council on two federal immigration operations.[^13] ## Notes [^1]: City of Saint Paul, *City Council* (official page) — the council's composition and ward structure; current membership seated January 2024. https://www.stpaul.gov/departments/city-council [^2]: Wikipedia, *Saint Paul City Council* (revision 1359691307, retrieved Oct. 27, 2026) — strong mayor–council form; seven wards and four-year terms; nonpartisan offices and DFL affiliation as of 2024; STV approved 2009, used since 2011; pay as of Feb. 2023; newest member August 2025. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Paul_City_Council [^3]: Minnesota wiki at-issue record, pair AI-Ramsey-033 (*Warren E. Burger Apex Dossier* §VI, Sept. 2, 2026), with history row HE-0218 — the January 9, 2013 unanimous resolution, its directive, and the absence of documented completion on city pages. The pair's underlying news sources are not among the citable URLs. The URL below is the pair's anchor, the White House presidential action (Jan. 2025). https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/ending-radical-and-wasteful-government-dei-programs-and-preferencing/ [^4]: City of Saint Paul, *City Council Reparations Efforts — Legislative* (city page) — Resolution 21-77 (Jan. 13, 2021); Reparations Commission ordinance (Feb. 13, 2023); the commission's advisory role; no appropriation stated. https://www.stpaul.gov/department/city-council/city-council-reparations-efforts/city-council-reparations-legislative-0 [^5]: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs, *United States Department of Justice Files Lawsuit Against Minnesota's "Affirmative Action" Regime*, release No. 26-21 (Jan. 14, 2026) — the release title and the Attorney General's certification. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/united-states-department-justice-files-lawsuit-against-minnesotas-affirmative-action-regime [^6]: U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, *Complaint, United States v. State of Minnesota*, No. 0:26-cv-00273 (D. Minn. filed Jan. 14, 2026) — Title VII claims; eight citations of Minn. Stat. § 43A.191, including subd. 3(c). https://www.justice.gov/crt/media/1423361/dl [^7]: U.S. Congress, *Iraq Liberation Act of 1998*, Pub. L. 105-338 — statutory use of "the regime headed by Saddam Hussein"; the catalogue finding is the project's own (*How Minnesota Got Here*, note 40). https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/PLAW-105publ338/pdf/PLAW-105publ338.pdf [^8]: Keen Independent Research, *Keen Independent releases one of nation's largest disparity studies ever* (2017) — the nine commissioning entities, including St. Paul; Phase 1 findings of 11% vs. 22%; full report March 12, 2018. https://www.keenindependent.com/news/keen-independent-releases-one-nations-largest-disparity-studies-ever/ [^9]: Minnesota Revisor of Statutes, *Minn. Stat. § 473.123* — the Metropolitan Council enabling statute and its history line (Laws 1967, signed May 25, 1967, by Gov. Harold LeVander). https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/473.123 [^10]: Metropolitan Council, *Council Members* (official page) — members are gubernatorial appointees. https://metrocouncil.org/About-Us/The-Council-Who-We-Are.aspx [^11]: Minnesota Revisor of Statutes, *Minn. Stat. § 473.851* — the 1976 Metropolitan Land Use Planning Act and the Council's comprehensive-plan review authority. https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/473.851 [^12]: Metropolitan Council, *METRO Green Line* (project page) — opening June 14, 2014, connecting both downtowns. https://metrocouncil.org/Transportation/Projects/Current-Projects/METRO-Green-Line.aspx [^13]: Office of the Governor, *Executive Order 26-05* (Mar. 25, 2026) — establishes the Governor's "Truth" Council. https://mn.gov/governor/assets/Executive%20Order%2026-05_tcm1055-735580.pdf